小说园

第13部分（第1页）

〃Yes。　Something　to　record　the　activity　of　the　ship　on　its　voyage。〃

〃They　must　have；〃　Harry　said。　〃Trace　the　dummy　cable　back；　youre　sure　to　find　it。　Id　like　to　see　that　recorder；　too。　In　fact；　I　would　say　it　is　crucial。〃

Norman　was　looking　at　the　console；　lifting　up　a　keyboard　panel。　〃Look　here；〃　he　said。　〃I　found　a　date。〃

They　clustered　around。　There　was　a　stamp　in　the　plastic　beneath　the　keyboard。　〃Intel　Inc。　Made　in　U。S。A。　Serial　No：　98004077　8543。〃

〃August　5；　2043？〃

〃Looks　like　it。〃

〃So　were　walking　through　a　ship　fifty…odd　years　before　its　going　to　be　built。　。。。〃

〃This　is　giving　me　a　headache。〃

〃Look　here。〃　Beth　had　moved　forward　from　the　console　deck；　into　what　looked　like　living　quarters。　There　were　twenty　bunk　beds。

〃Crew　of　twenty？　If　it　took　three　people　to　fly　it；　what　were　the　other　seventeen　for？〃

＇＇80＇＇　Nobody　had　an　answer　to　that。

Next；　they　entered　a　large　kitchen；　a　toilet；　living　quarters。　Everything　was　new　and　sleekly　designed；　but　recognizable　for　what　it　was。

〃You　know；　Hal；　this　is　a　lot　more　fortable　than　DH…8。〃

〃Yes；　maybe　we　should　move　in　here。〃

〃Absolutely　not；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Were　studying　this　ship；　not　living　in　it。　Weve　got　a　lot　more　work　to　do　before　we　even　begin　to　know　what　this　is　all　about。〃

〃Itd　be　more　efficient　to　live　here　while　we　explore　it。〃

〃I　dont　want　to　live　here；〃　Harry　said。　〃It　gives　me　the　creeps。〃

〃Me　too；〃　Beth　said。

They　had　been　aboard　the　ship　for　an　hour　now；　and　Normans　feet　hurt。　That　was　another　thing　he　hadnt　anticipated：　while　exploring　a　large　spacecraft　from　the　future；　your　feet　could　begin　to　hurt。

But　Barnes　continued　on。

Leaving　the　crew　quarters；　they　entered　a　vast　area　of　narrow　walkways　set　out　between　great　sealed　partments　that　stretched　ahead　as　far　as　they　could　see。　The　partments　turned　out　to　be　storage　bays　of　immense　size。　They　opened　one　bay　and　found　it　was　filled　with　heavy　plastic　containers；　which　looked　rather　like　the　loading　containers　of　contemporary　airliners；　except　many　times　larger。　They　opened　one　container。

〃No　kidding；〃　Barnes　said；　peering　inside。　〃What　is　it？〃

〃Food。〃

The　food　was　wrapped　in　layers　of　lead　foil　and　plastic；　like　NASA　rations。　Ted　picked　one　up。　〃Food　from　the　future！〃　he　said；　and　smacked　his　lips。

〃You　going　to　eat　that？〃　Harry　said。

〃Absolutely；〃　Ted　said。　〃You　know；　I　once　had　a　bottle　of　Dom　Pérignon　1897；　but　this　will　be　the　first　time　Ive　ever　had　anything　to　eat　from　the　future；　from　2043。〃

＇＇81＇＇　〃Its　also　three　hundred　years　old；〃　Harry　said。

〃Maybe　youll　want　to　film　this；〃　Ted　said　to　Edmunds。　〃Me　eating。〃

Edmunds　dutifully　put　the　camera　to　her　eye；　flicked　on　the　light。

〃Lets　not　do　that　now；〃　Barnes　said。　〃We　have　other　things　to　acplish。〃

〃This　is　human　interest；〃　Ted　said。　〃Not　now；〃　Barnes　said　firmly。

He　opened　a　second　storage　container；　and　a　third。　They　all　contained　food。　They　moved　to　the　next　storage　bay　and　opened　more　containers。